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A new release by the Labor Department today said the economy gained 257,000 jobs in January, a number much higher than previously estimated.

Additionally, wages increases are the highest they've been in six years thus prompting Americans to enter the job market for work. Average hourly wages jumped to $24.75, an increase of 12 cents –the biggest gain since September 2008.

Job gains have now averaged 336,000 per month for the past three months - the best consecutive three-month pace in the past 17 years. This time last year, the average three-month job gain was only 197,000.

While job gains increased, the unemployment rate rose from 5.6 percent to 5.7 percent, however this adjusts for people who were looking for employment but did not find work. This also shows that more Americans are confident about their job prospects and entering the workforce.

With the drop in gas prices, American’s total spending power has increased and is bolstering a healthy economy.

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.

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